By Jeff Lipton
During the board¹s meeting on Tuesday, July 24, the remaining four commissioners made Lynch¹s decision official, even though he quit the post on June 28 for what he said were ³personal reasons.²
Lynch¹s letter of resignation was read during the meeting before the board voted to accept it.
Calls to several of the Oceanside fire commissioners were not returned last week, but in a prepared statement released the day after the meeting, board Chairman Craig DeBaun said, ³Former Chief and Commissioner Lynch worked well with the other Board members in balancing the needs of the firefighters with requirements of the community. He was an asset to the Board and will be missed.²
Officials in the Oceanside Fire District had said the board also was expected to determine during the July 24 meeting whether Lynch¹s seat would be filled immediately by appointment or remain vacant until the election in December, when a replacement would be voted in to serve the remaining three years of Lynch¹s five-year term.
³While state law allows the remaining commissioners to appoint a replacement until the upcoming elections in December, at present, no decision has been made [and] the matter is still being considered,² according to the statement released by the board of commissioners on July 25.
Contacted by phone on Saturday, July 28, Lynch again gave no clues about why he decided to resign from the board, maintaining ³it was for personal reasons² and refusing to comment further.
Shortly after Lynch made the announcement on June 28, John Caluori, superintendent of the Oceanside Fire District, indicated that the sudden resignation caught him by surprise, saying he was ³as shocked as anybody.²
Lynch was first elected to the board in 1999 to complete the term of a retiring commissioner, and was re-elected the following year to a full five-year term.
In December 2005, Lynch defeated challenger Dennis McGlynn, 438 votes to 333, to win his second full term on the board. By the time he resigned, Lynch had served eight and a half years on the board, including two years ago as chairman of the five-member board.
³We worked very hard with Billy, he was a good commissioner for eight-and-a-half years,² the board chairman said. ³Billy was a good friend to all of us.²
Marc Beja contributed to this story. Comments about it?Jlipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
